The Shores of Baie Mooar

TOOK
a walk to Dalby the other day, and when I got there I sat down to
take my rest on Sayles Brow that overlooks the Niarbyl shore.
As I sat there I thought of the old times.

Now there is only one inhabited cottage left, whereas a little
over fifty years ago there were five, and out of these five, three
were public-houses. I have heard that two different people kept ale
and spirits in one of these and when customers came in one landlady
said, There is good ale here, the other one said,
There is better here. At that time the Niarbyl had a
fleet of about thirty boats. These were called square sail, owing to
their rig, I suppose. They carried one square sail forward, and
measured about twenty-five to thirty feet long, and about ten to
twelve feet beam, and carried a crew of eight men. They were engaged
in the herring fishing in the summer, and fished cod and haddock
during the winter and spring. There was another class of boat, too,
called wherry, about fifty to sixty feet long, with about fifteen
feet beam, rigged fore-and-aft. Their chief market was Liverpool.
These wherries ran the fish to market, and many a good tale the old
buccaneers could tell of the races to market with the
fish. If the weather was favourable they would take the fish on board
in the Niarbyl Bay. So it is no wonder that they required a few
public-houses. It is said that one day the jough ran short, and
one landlady was drawing ushtey 2 from the chibbyr3 and
teeming it in the barrel. When found fault with, her reply was,
Cha jean eh roshtyn daue, lurg shen.4 Looking
at the Niarbyl now,

We can still see the fragments of old-time things. Yet there is
what is known as the Barra, which means a passage or inlet, where
there has been a passage cut through the rock from low-water to
half-flood, and where the boulders, some of them tons weight, have
been rolled up on the south side so as to form a sort of
quaysuch as it was.

One of the rocks on the beach, it was said, was used by the
Mooinjer-Veggey 5 playing at quoits in the nights, and
throwing stones against the rock. When a small boy I have often lain
listening to the sound of the stones tap-tapping, and in the morning,
time after time, I have found a ring of little white stones round the
rock, and as often as the stones would be thrown out to sea they
would always be back again in the morning. The only stones like them
on the shore are on Traie Enn6 half-a mile away. Round
about are the large rocks where men and lads used to fish. The
Niarbyl, or rather Yn Arbyl, (The Tail), is a long reef ; dividing it
from the mainland is the Gulled, so called because the tide flows
through at half-flood, and we cannot cross until half-ebb. The first
part we come to is called the Lheern, perhaps it gets its name from
the rocks, which are of a grey-mouldy colour. The sea never covers
this portion, excepting the light spray dashing up. This contains
half of the reef. When we pass these high rocks we come to the
Doarlish.7 The tide flows through this at half-flood. Now
we come to Nannag Veg,8 and then Nannag Mooar.9
These two rocks are covered in any rough weather at high-tide.
I daresay they got their names from their appearance when surrounded
by water ; the old people called the Northern Diver, the Nannag
Mooar, and the rocks when so surrounded very much resembled these
birds. The next rock is the Cabbyl Mooar, as it is horse-backed
shape; this rock is awash at half-flood and half-ebb. There are quite
a number of fishing rocks here. Starting with Cheutwoai10
we go round Cheu-jiass.11 This is Creg Tim. Next is Gulled
Richard, next Grunt Sollys Cheu-twoaie,12 then the Quay,
because it resembles a quay. It was on this rock that Tom
Ferrick13 sat fishing, and as he was catching bollans he
would sing

We will shoot an haul amidst the squall
An throw the bollans against the wall.

The next fishing rock is the Nannag Veg, then Grunt Sollys
Cheu-jiass,14 and then Cabbyl Veg.

But the morning is growing on, so let us continue our walk along
the cliffs to the south. First we come to a little cave called Ooig
ny Meill,15 which has three entrances facing south, west,
and east. Leading to the west entrance is a little patch of white
sand, the only white sand on this coast, and once when a boy I saw on
it tiny footprints, no bigger than my thumb, the marks of little
clogs they were, going into the cave and round the rock in the middle
of it. The rock is about two feet high and it was said that the Shenn
Ven Ooig ny Meillthe Old Woman of Meill Cave, often sat on it
with her face to the west. I think that she must have died, or
shifted to some other cave, as she has not been seen for years. A
little farther on we come to a little cave called Ooig fly Claghyn
Baney ; perhaps it got its name from the white stones of the cave.
Next is a long dark cave called Ooig Dorra,16 under a
cliff a!most perpendicular. Then turning Gob y Sharrey17
we come into Gulled Paddy. There is no shore here, simply a few
big boulders with steep cliffs on both sides. Next is Ooig y Daa
Chione,18 this cave is open at both ends, We pass through
Ooig y Daa Chione and get into Gulled Jimmy Dhone or Brown
Jimmys Gullet. It has perpendicular sides and is about twelve
feet wide. This cleft got its name on account of Brown Jimmy. In his
time they were pressing men into the Navy to fight, and Jimmy, being
pursued by the pressgang, jumped this gullet and so escaped them.
Passing on, we come to Traie Vrisht Veg19 and then over
Creg Adda20 and we are in Traie Vrisht Mooar.21
The cliffs above these shores are very steep, almost
overhanging. We now turn Gob y Jane. At the foot of this headland
there is a cave which leads to Traie Enn. It was in this cave that
Nan and Tom y Keilley, passing through one day, shouted to one
another, the cave echoed, and never having heard an echo before they
thought there must be something unearthly in the cave. Tom shouted to
Nan, Ta beisht ayn, roie, Nan. Like a shot, the echo
Roie Nan, fright-ened them more than ever. Nan shouted
back  Roie, Thom. They did run. They ran all the way home
and told their mother that they were Bunnys ass nyn
geeayll22 with fright.

Now, after passing through the cave in which Nan and Tom got such
a fright, we are on Traie Enn or Traie Vane, the most beautiful shore
in the Island, composed of white stones, although there is very
little white rock about this portion of the coast. Next we come to
Traie Carran or Carrans shore. This shore is divided from Traie
Enn by the Lag river. These are the only two shores of any
consequence, as all along this coast the shores are composed of
scraggy rocks and boulders. Now we come to what is known as the
Shiaull Bane, this is a big flat rock about twenty feet square. It
stands on edge against the foot of the cliff. The fishermen use it as
a fishing mark by carrying it in line with some other object. Shiaull
Bane means white sail, its colour being a light grey. Leaving Shiaull
Bane, and walking along for about four hundred yards over rough
boulders, we come to Gob ny Gimmeryn or Gimmagh or Gimmee,
Gimmagh means lobster and Gimniee means lobsters; as it is a good
place for lobsters, I suppose it got its name from that. Off this
point there are a lot of rocks called Ellaneryn Gob ny Gimmeryn,
which are dry at low water spring tides. Next is Traie yri Faiyr
Mollagh.23 This is a rough rocky shore, I think that it
takes its name from the rough ground above, covered with tall grass
mixed with sloe thorn. There is a cassan24going up from this shore, and another cassan breaking off about
half-way up to the left, called the Cam.25 Passing on from
Traie yn Faiyr Mollagh, and crossing a ridge of rock called Creg
Adda, we are in Harstalthat is the name given by the old
people, but called in the map Fheustal. The cliffs at the
east end are very high. At the edge here, there is a hole called Towl
Bill Nick. It was in here that Bill Nick hid himself from the
pressgang, and so escaped. In the south end of Harstal shore, there
is a well or spring called Chibbyr Barra Harstal, as it is situated
at the end of the barra. Next is Traie ny Lhingey,26 this
is another rough shore. It is known, too, as Carrans Tacks.
They owned the land and made a zig-zag road to the shore to cart
seaweed up.

We cannot go any farther this way on the shore. Up, then, we mount the tacks
or zig-zag path to the edge of the cliff, and are in Maghyr Stack or Stack Field.
The next field above it is called Contholthey.27 In it there are
two piles of stones. It is said there were two holes in this field that went
to the depth of the shore, some hundreds of feet, and that a dog fell into one
of these holes and came out at the shore through Ooig Stack, about half-a-mile
away, and that is why they piled the stones over these holes. Ooig Stack has
two entrances, one pointing southa very large one, and the other northa
small entrance. At the foot of the cave is Creg Stack, running to a point, we
can get on the rock at low-water spring tides. It is a very good fishing rock.
We pass on to the Crackan Mooar, meaning big skin, a very high sloping side,
rough with ling and gorse ; there is a footpath here that brings us to Gob yn
Ellan 28 or Gob yn Ushtey.29 Between Creg Stack and Gob
yn Ushtey, there is a fishing rock called Creg y Yeean or Birds Rock,
some call it Creg y Lhong, Ships Rock, on account of a ship which was
lost here about a hundred years ago,called the Miriam. There is a cave here
called Ooig y Dhullishthe Cave of Freshwater Dullish. The dullish is watered
by the sea from half-flood to half-ebb, then fresh water drips from the top
of the cave and feeds it from half-flood to half-ebb. Now, returning to Gob
yn Ushtey, there is a waterfall on the south side that may account for it being
called Gob yn Ushtey ; and at the foot of the Gob, there are two island rocks
that may account for the other name, Gob yn Ellan. One of these rocks is called
Ellan Croobagh or Lame Island. These are very good fishing rocks, too, but difficult
to get to. Crossing over the waterfall river into Eary Cushlin, we come to Ooig
ny Goayr or the Cave of the Goats Jaw, there is one high overhanging side
to the north, the other side falling back. Now we are on the shore called Da-leura
Liauyr, the next is Da-leura Giare ; about one hundred yards above the shore
is a little flat field called Maghyr Beg Da-leura. In passing Da-leura Giare
we are on the Eaynin Mooarthe Big Precipice. Next comes Cronk Shellagh
or Sally Bank. Now we are at Ooig ny Seyir or Carpenters Cave. This is
the cave in which the fairies built their boats and cured their herrings. About
fifty years ago the Baie Mooar fishermen, passing close to the shore, could
hear Themselves knocking their barrels aboutheading and hooping them ready
for market. It is said the Little People had a horror of tar, and never used
it on their nets or buoys to preserve themjust leaving them white. Fishermen
when sailing in the night crossing over trains of nets with white buoys would
know that they were amongst the herrings. Then the skipper would sing outGow
shiaull, guillyn, as ceau aynjee, which means Take sail, boys, and
throw her in. Next is Gob y Quiggin or Quiggins Point. This is also
a good fishing rock. Joining this is Lag ny Keeilley shore.

About two hundred yards above the shore is the ruins of Lag
ny Keeilley Church and burial ground. Now Lag ny Keeilley is said to be
the burial place of the Kings of Mann. Some say it was the worshipping place
of the ancient monks. Strange place to bury, stranger still to worship. There
are many stories about the place. I heard one quite lately. It was told to me
by Robert Quayle, of Peel, who vouches for the truth of it. About twenty
years ago, he said, we were at the spring fishing, and one night
we went into Purt lern to spend part of the night. About two hours before day
we got ready to return to Peel; I happened to be steering, and when off Bradda
Head, being a fine night, I told the rest of the crew to go below and have an
hours sleep. When abreast of Slock, being left alone, I was suddenly startled
to see a light spring up in the valley of Lag ny Keeilley. I watched, thinking
it was strange, another and another appeared. until I am sure there were fifty
lights, about forty yards apart. Then I heard the beat of a drum and musicwonderful
music. At last I called the crew from below. When they came on deck and saw
it the same as I did, one said to the other, "It is the Little Chaps making
merry." And as the music played the lights moved to and fro. It continued until
the day broke, and the lights disappeared one by one and the music died away
in the distance. I remembered the tune they had for months afterwards.